Thursday, May 6

Another basically wasted day for me. Still feel wiped out. I'm getting very tired of being tired. We have plans for the weekend, and I'd like to be energetic enough to shop, and then attend a lunch at Hubbie's niece's house.

It was a beautiful day, though, if a bit hot. This afternoon, Mother and I toured the yard, where there are lots of flowers blooming, including three beds of irises, three posts with clematis climbing on them, roses, and a variety of other blooming plants. After this weekend, maybe I'll feel like going out and doing snapshots of everything.

Being out in the sunshine reminded me of my youth, when friends and I spent all day outdoors (unlike many kids today), inventing our own adventures. We made mustard sandwiches...nothing but mustard spread on slices of bread, which sounds dreadful now, but which we thought tasted wonderful...and went on picnics along the banks of an irrigation ditch. We pretended that the water-filled ditch was a mighty river.

We strung a blanket over a line, borrowed our mother's clothes, and put on plays. One time, we dug a big hole (at least it seemed big at the time) in our backyard, filled it water and tried to charge other neighborhood kids a penny each to wade in it. It was a failed venture.

So I got the bright idea to cover it with a blanket and camp in the hole overnight. I snuck out of the house after I thought everyone was asleep, but I was caught in the act. Next day, I was commanded to fill the hole and never try a stunt like that again. I never tried it again.

Another time, my friends and I decided to play pirates, which naturally required that we hide a treasure chest. One of dad's cigar boxes and a handful of Mother's costume jewelry fit the bill nicely. Off we went to hide the "chest" in a haystack in the barn.

We soon tired of the game, though, and went on to other pursuits. I forgot all about the cigar box and costume jewelry. The next day, farmhands pitched the hay, including the cigar box, onto a trailer and hauled it away. We never saw the box or the jewelry again. Mother was less than happy. Thank goodness, nothing that was lost was priceless.

Oh, the memories, though, of long hot summer days!

Did nothing of consequence the rest of the afternoon, followed by leftover lasagna for supper, and the usual TV viewing for the evening.